London confirms NFL interest in his offensive coordinator

Posted by John Taylor on February 8, 2012, 3:51 PM EST

AP

Speculation surfaced Tuesday that Virginia offensive coordinator Bill Lazor was a front-runner for the same job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, although a report coming out late last night stated Lazor “was no longer a candidate.”

Based on the words of Lazor’s boss, that’s not exactly the case. At least not yet.

Due to the interest in Lazor’s status, UVa head coach Mike London released a statement Wednesday afternoon. In the statement, London confirmed Lazor has spoken to an NFL team, although he gave no indication that his coordinator was or wasn’t still a candidate.

I have received a number of inquiries regarding the status of Bill Lazor on our staff. Bill recently met with a NFL team regarding an opening on its staff. Considering his background in the NFL and the outstanding job he has done as our offensive coordinator, that does not surprise me.

I’m a firm believer in the continuity of the overall staff and I think the combination of quality assistant coaches and support staff have contributed to our success thus far. At the same time, opportunities present themselves that I feel are important for our staff to investigate and possibly pursue for their personal development and to allow them to meet their personal goals.

Lazor has been at Virginia the past two seasons, and serves as the Cavaliers’ quarterbacks coach as well. He had spent the previous seven seasons prior as an NFL assistant.